When Jesus gets asked by the disciples a question about who is the greatest, his answer probably wasn’t what they expected. He didn’t tell them a series of great works they should strive for. Instead, Jesus gives a long series of short instructions around creating and maintaining community.

In today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus specifically seems to be answer and unspoken question about, “What if someone hurts me?” As we dive into his answer what we discover is that Jesus hope and intention for confrontation is almost the exact opposite of ours. While we seek to be vindicated for the wrong that’s occurred to us, Jesus seeks restoration of the relationship. Not only does Jesus call us to strive for restoring relationships, he seems to call us to go to great lengths to do so.

If you are struggling with a broken relationship this sermon, may be a a god send…challenging…but a God send.

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